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Increasing use of biofuels would bring down the U.K.'s pollution levels more cost effectively than by putting more electric vehicles on the road, according to a BP-funded study by U.K.-based Element Energy. Internal combustion engines will still dominate the market through 2030, the study found, so biofuels will play a major role in the U.K.'s carbon-reduction efforts. Using biofuels would cost U.K. consumers about $21 more per year, on average, compared with about $315 for electric vehicles, the study found.

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The U.K.'s Institution of Engineering and Technology indicates that driverless vehicles will be far safer than their human-driven counterparts, as human errors outstrip the mistakes of a machine by a factor of 10,000 to 1. IET expects that the cars could be available by 2030, with U.K. trials beginning as early as next month.

Volvo says it will debut its 7900 Electric Hybrid bus in Hannover, Germany, this week and it is in discussions with other European cities to bring more models to public roads next year. Volvo says the vehicles re-power via overhead charger and rely on a small diesel engine for "hybrid mode," which reduces CO2 emissions by 75%.

Controlling the rate at which electric vehicles recharge can keep electricity costs in line in the future, cutting the cost by as much as half, according to a Carnegie Mellon University study. The problem will come when electric cars become more common and owners plug them in after work, causing a spike in demand. The study says this can be avoided with controlled charging that can "shift loads later in the night when cheaper power plants are again available," said Paulina Jaramillo, assistant research professor of engineering and public policy at the university.

With the achievement of sustained speeds topping 180 mph, some advanced electric vehicles show the potential to compete with their internal-combustion racing counterparts, says electric-vehicle pioneer John Waters. "Electric cars have inherent advantages in efficiency and torque over gasoline-powered vehicles. Energy storage-to-torque on an EV platform is above 90% efficient, compared to less than 35% for internal combustion engines," Waters notes.

The Environmental Protection Agency's proposed Tier 3 sulfur-reduction rules could stifle the development of alternative-fuel vehicles by promoting production of more-efficient conventional vehicles, observers said. The EPA's proposal "simply extends indefinitely the viability of traditional automobile engines," said Francis X. Lyons, a former EPA administrator for the Great Lakes area. Some environmentalists, however, say greater output of alternative-fuel vehicles would still be needed to meet long-term carbon-reduction goals.